Young kids, and what they can teach us about fitness

If you have a young kid at home (below the age of 5, or below formal schooling begins), you likely know how hard it is to keep up with them. "Managing" kids, keeping a tab on their movements (and thus keeping them out of trouble) is literally a full time job - and one that exhausts most adults, irrespective of fitness levels.

Young kids have seemingly limitless stamina and exuberance to match. They can run around for hours without getting tired - and when they do get tired, they hit the hay - and more often that not, they're out like a light after doing so. No tossing and turning or waking up in the middle of the night - no stressing out over the next day - they simply SLEEP and allow their systems to rejuvenate for the next day. And the next day, they're back at their devilish best again - no soreness, or aching muscles, or anything of that sort.

And the secret to their good health and endless amount of energy is that they MOVE around constantly. You'll rarely find a young kid sitting down still for any length of time - more often than not, he'll be itching to crawl about or fiddle with things, or run about (if he's at that age). In fact, they exercise without even knowing it - or without even putting it on their to-do list - they just DO it, and do it happily and regularly.

And thats what we can learn from kids when it comes to fitness - making exercise a part of our daily lives - and doing so without any stress whatsoever.

Your 1 year old isn't concerned with how many times he can crawl around the floor - he does it for FUN - and he keeps doing it until he's tired and not able to do so any more. Then he's put into bed, where he sleeps like a baby (no pun intended) - and is back doing the same thing with vim and vigor when he wakes up. And he's setting a great foundation for strength gains while he crawls about on the floor, hangs on to the monkey bars, and so forth.

Compare this to the average adult. He wakes up dreading going in to work - comes back home after a long and usually stressful day, and collapses on the couch for a while, before tucking into dinner and then bed. There is not much physical activity whatsoever in the average adult's day - and those that DO exercise usually do long "cardio" sessions, or spend hours fooling around with fancy equipment in gyms - and most of these people actually end up dreading their workouts - simply because they're so boring and something that they don't even WANT to do.

And so, is it any surprise that the majority of folks fail to stick with their routines or achieve the sort of results they'd want from their training programs?

How much better would it be if we simply did the things the way we did when we were young kids? How much would we benefit from making exercise a part of our daily life - and doing so without any stress whatsoever? That second bit is key - have FUN while doing something, and don't stress out about it, and you'll automatically stick to the routine without even thinking about it.

Most people don't know how to make exercise fun - but if they did, I guarantee you that society in general would be a LOT fitter than it is today, and much healthier as well.

And thats what I'm hoping to change with Fast and Furious Fitness. Yes, the exercises are HARD - and yes, you can get done with your routine FAST - but most importantly, they are FUN to do. And most of them require no special equipment, so you can do them anywhere you have some space - and you'll feel like a billion bucks after getting done with your workout.

So, thats another take on exercising - chomp on it for breakfast today, and see how you like it!

Best regards,

Rahul

PS: Note that when I talk about kids having boundless energy, I'm referring to those below the age of 5 or before formal schooling begins. Formal schooling in my book is one of the prime reasons behind kids losing their natural exuberance and stamina as they start getting weighed down by unnatural expectations. I'll talk about this more in later posts, but you only have to look at the number of obese teenagers you see around you for proof.

Do your bit to stop this. If you have kids at home (kids of any age), make sure you grab a copy of Fast and Furious Fitness, and get the youngsters started on some of the routines in the book. They'll thank you for it later!